Most wonderful season

The carrot rather than the stick

Well that's over. Thank goodness. Wife loves her some politics and is vocal as most supermodels are. I try and ignore it all because every two years it ruins the most wonderful time of the year. The period between Halloween and Thanksgiving. My reasons are infallible. First, the children of age have huge bags of candy they collected but that are managed by the grown-ups of the house. Leverage. Children will do a lot for candy. Best uses of the year so far are in no particular order: to practice for a spelling bee that they don't want to compete in, to rake the leaves of the yard before all of them have fallen, and to get them to try new foods. "We would love some broccoli as long as we get our two pieces of candy for a clean plate!"

Can't we all just get along drink together

Reason two is that Thanksgiving is the only holiday based around a meal. Sure you get bar-b-ques for the 4th and Christmas Dinner but, the centerpiece of Thanksgiving is the meal. I am a fat kid. A country fat kid. I need my great-grandmother's chicken and dumplings on the third Thursday. Third, the weather is all over the place but you are almost guaranteed a few really good cold days to remember that winter is coming and you need sweaters, cider, and snuggles. Dog snuggles, supermodel snuggles, and recently added baby snuggles all count in my world.

A friend of ours the iowa girl in bama is keeping up with all the things she is thankful for this month. That is a straw poll I can get behind. A season of thankfulness? Screw election season. There I said it. It is divisive and hateful and no one wins. The radio today on the ride in to work was all abuzz with grumps. Who is Grumpy the day after Thanksgiving? No one! This is the second most patriotic holiday of the year and I would argue the first. The 4th really? We made a declaration and then had a bloody war and were starving and cold. Wrong order. Thanksgiving we were starving and cold because of a desire for freedom and made peace with the locals and they helped us survive and had a feast to celebrate. Yes please.

Everybody loves snacks

I digress. I love this season. It is universal in this country so no bickering over an assault on Christmas  No one left out because they don't believe in a bunny helping a savior find his peeps. No haunted houses to attempt to cause me to urinate or defecate on myself. No fat winged baby with a weapon putting pressure on relationships.

In a 4 team playoff format of holidays I say Christmas comes in the favorite and the #1 spot. Thanksgiving is #2. Then, Easter and Halloween round out the pugilists  Independence day is the number 5 holiday who will complain about being left out but everyone knows the right 4 are in the tournament.

Thanksgiving draws Easter in the first round and wins in a landslide because it is more inclusive, better food and better sports on TV to nap through. Christmas struggles with the number 4, Halloween. Kids are pumped because of candy and presents but the adults give Christmas the win because the holiday from work is longer and you get presents as an adult which is rare. Championship match is T-give versus X-mas (as they are known on tha streets). I see Thanksgiving winning. Yes other religions celebrate during the same time as Christmas but the stress of presents and seeing everyone you "need to see" becomes overwhelming. Thanksgiving is by in large stress free time to see family or friends or both and gather around heaping piles of good food and discuss things that we are all thankful for and that draw us together. Thanksgiving wins and the crowd goes wild!

We all have our own traditions but I think more emphasis on Thanksgiving Season, despite its low impact on the consumer spending index, would benefit our country as a whole unless you worry about things like childhood obesity rates.

Not fat. Just a big fan of Thanksgiving